World Heritage Sites

Frank Keith Underbrink, 72, of Libertyville, IL died February 9, 2007. He was born April 16, 1934 in Libertyville, was a 1956 graduate of Carlton College in Northfield, MN and received his masters from Northwestern University. He pursued his doctorial studies at U. of CA, Berkeley and St. Anthony's College, Oxford University, England. He taught American Literature at the Sorbonne in Paris and was an administrator at the English College in Paris. After coming back to IL, he taught at Libertyville High...

By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. government will nominate the Alamo, the famed location of a battle for Texas independence, and other colonial missions nearby as U.N. World Heritage sites, the Interior Department said on Friday. The Alamo, located in San Antonio, and four other Spanish colonial missions that line the San Antonio River will try to join 21 other U.S. locations that include Yellowstone National Park...

How much of Britain you see depends on your ambition. How much it costs depends on your frugality. The Great British Heritage Pass 2000 encourages both traits by opening the doors to more than 600 historic places, places like the Tower of London, Anne Hathaway's Cottage at Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Carleon Roman amphitheater and baths in Wales, Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, even Stonehenge. The pass comes in three versions: the one-month pass is $102; the 15-day pass is $75; and the seven-day pass is $54. The clock...

By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO, June 1 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration on Friday nominated The Alamo and the four other San Antonio Franciscan missions as a United Nations World Heritage Site. "The missions represent an important, and often overlooked, chapter of our nation's history," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said, standing before the stone towers of Mission Concepcion, along the San Antonio River just south of downtown. "It is...

1,000 Ultimate Experiences Lonely Planet, $22.99 The world is full of experiences, ultimate and otherwise; assembling all of these into one book is hard. Fortunately, Lonely Planet is up to the challenge. The editors have scoured places to go and things to do in every corner of the globe in preparing this entertaining volume. They include the world's happiest places, which range from Montreal to the town of Happy in Texas, but also countries wildly different from each other such as Colombia...

1,000 Ultimate Experiences Lonely Planet, $22.99 The world is full of experiences, ultimate and otherwise; assembling all of these into one book is hard. Fortunately, Lonely Planet is up to the challenge. The editors have scoured places to go and things to do in every corner of the globe in preparing this entertaining volume. They include the world's happiest places, which range from Montreal to the town of Happy in Texas, but also countries wildly different from each other such as Colombia...

It's a long sweep from the northern reaches of Canada to the southernmost point of South America. "Mapping the Americas," the theme of this year's Geography Awareness Week, Nov. 16-22, spotlights the vastness and diversity that lie between the Arctic Ocean and Tierra del Fuego. In schools across the U.S., students and their families are dipping into the Americas as a part of Geography Action!, the National Geographic Society's annual effort to heighten awareness of the world in which we live.

"Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City of the Mississippi" Timothy R. Pauketat Viking, $22.95, 194 pages Noted anthropologist Timothy Pauketat tells us a story we may think we already know, if only from our vague recollections of grade-school history. Cahokia, the cultural center to the people historians once referred to as the "Mound Builders," represents the mysteries and debates that surround the distant past of North America and its native peoples....

In a way, the structures were just waiting for this. They passed centuries in glorious esteem, sheltering kings from time to time, inspiring postcard photographers. Think of the vaguely disquieting statues at Easter Island, the luminous marble of the Taj Mahal, the stately Athenian Acropolis and the intimidatingly vast Great Wall of China. They're beyond landmarks. Many are official World Heritage Sites, recognized both as lovely and significant by the United Nations. Still, there's something...

It's a long sweep from the northern reaches of Canada to the southernmost point of South America. "Mapping the Americas," the theme of this year's Geography Awareness Week, Nov. 16-22, spotlights the vastness and diversity that lie between the Arctic Ocean and Tierra del Fuego. In schools across the U.S., students and their families are dipping into the Americas as a part of Geography Action!, the National Geographic Society's annual effort to heighten awareness of the world in which we live.

Upon arrival in Luang Prabang we scurried as fast as our overcurried tummies would allow to L'Elephant, a French restaurant. Bread? Cheese? After two weeks in Thailand, where rice rules the plate, we were starved for both, and L'Elephant obliged with fresh-baked baguettes and mozzarella that melted in the mouth like chocolate. As we sipped French wine, we were charmed by the twirling ceiling fan and French colonial architecture. But the delicacy of the French touch ended outside the...

Global climate change has joined the roster of wars, urban sprawl, uncontrolled tourism and the pressures of economic development as the newest and perhaps most daunting threat to historic sites everywhere, according to the World Monuments Fund, which released its 2008 Watch List of the 100 most endangered sites Wednesday. "It is a new theme on this watch list," said Bonnie Burnham, president of the non-profit organization, referring to the impact of global climate change....

Tina Festa, a 36-year-old tour guide, likes to joke that her parents were born in caves. It's not really a joke, though. They were born in caves. Festa's parents are from the remote southern town of Matera, where for centuries peasants lived in caves. Although from a distance it looks like any other hill town in southern Italy, Matera's facades hide domiciles that have been hollowed out of the soft stone on the side of a mountain. Matera is in Basilicata, a parched region at the...

Frank Keith Underbrink, 72, of Libertyville, IL died February 9, 2007. He was born April 16, 1934 in Libertyville, was a 1956 graduate of Carlton College in Northfield, MN and received his masters from Northwestern University. He pursued his doctorial studies at U. of CA, Berkeley and St. Anthony's College, Oxford University, England. He taught American Literature at the Sorbonne in Paris and was an administrator at the English College in Paris. After coming back to IL, he taught at Libertyville High...

By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO, June 1 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration on Friday nominated The Alamo and the four other San Antonio Franciscan missions as a United Nations World Heritage Site. "The missions represent an important, and often overlooked, chapter of our nation's history," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said, standing before the stone towers of Mission Concepcion, along the San Antonio River just south of downtown. "It is...